To anyone with half a brain and an ability to think critically, the NFL’s entire handling of the so-called deflategate scandal has been a complete farce and bag-job.

Fortunately that has become clear to more and more people around the country, many of whom are in no way Patriots fans or supporters.

Here are some of the best articles from the last few days which expose Ted Wells, Roger Goodell and the NFL for their role in this disgraceful episode:

UPDATE – we can now add this to the list:

The Wells Report in Context – The Patriots official rebuttal. It’s long. 

———

This is how the NFL let deflate-gate get out of control and ridiculous – Dan Wetzel brings the hammer on Roger Goodell. And Chris Mortensen. This is what Wetzel says about Mortensen false report that 11 of the 12 balls were “more than 2 pounds per square inch below the league minimum of 12.5.”

At that very moment, the NFL had to know the story wasn’t true. Yet it did nothing.

So the league either created a fake story that was extremely prejudicial to the Patriots by leaking inaccurate information or someone else did it and the league office let it run wild rather than correct it with the actual air pressure measurements. It’s tough to figure out which scenario is worse for Goodell.

Once it appeared the Patriots were up to something big then the public and media rightfully demanded a serious investigation into what wasn’t that serious of a story. Goodell didn’t steer this to the truth and away from the heated condemnation of a signature player and the validity of a Super Bowl participant (and soon champion).

He instead commissioned Wells’ report, lending credence to a false narrative. Abdicating his authority to Wells led to the build-up for the report, which allowed a pack of Manhattan lawyers to serve as the cops, judge and jury.

There is probably no report without that demonstrably false ESPN story. What would be the point?

He goes into why the NFL let this happen.

DeflateGate punishments are NFL’s weak attempts to right its own wrongs – Sally Jenkins has been critical of the Patriots plenty of times in the past. About this, she says:

DeflateGate would be more of a ‘Gate’ if the league had proven that the balls were in fact deflated. But it hasn’t. That’s what is so peculiar about this entire deal. The Ted Wells report commissioned by the league is perfectly clear on this point: No one is sure which of two gauges were used to check the pressurization of the balls. The gauges gave significantly different readings; one read much higher than the other and showed the balls were legally inflated. The referee in charge of checking the footballs, Walt Anderson, is pretty sure he used this gauge. Yet the NFL disregarded this critical point — and the testimony of their own official. Nevertheless the NFL decided the “preponderance of the evidence” showed Brady and the Patriots manipulated the game balls. That’s how eager they are to find wrongdoing.

She goes on to say that the punishment is an attempt to make up for the inept handling of the Ray Rice case.

The only thing worse than our system of public justice is … – David Post examines Ted Wells’ emphasis on “preponderance of the evidence” which is then completely ignored in the conclusions reached in the report. Post concludes:

[And Memo to NFL:  you might want to think about not having your “investigators” decide your cases for you, eh? It smacks a little of Soviet-style justice.  Especially when your investigators’ ability to get more multi-million dollar engagements in the future depends on pleasing the client (i.e., you).  Not exactly a good design for reaching the right result, I would say.]

Soviet-style justice = Integrity, I guess.

The Physics of Deflategate – Chicago-based Data Scientist Drew Fustin completely destroys the science used by Exponent, whom he reminds you, produced a report that claimed that secondhand smoke does not cause cancer. In the Wells report, Walt Anderson claimed that to the best of his knowledge, he used the “logo” gauge in pregame measurements. The Wells Report dismisses that, and uses the data as if it were coming from the “non-logo” guage.

So, a scenario where the Logo Gauge was used by Walt Anderson pre-game, the Patriots halftime measurements were recorded at the beginning of halftime, and the Colts were measured at the end of halftime yields an average initial pressure of 12.56 psig for the Patriots balls and 13.01 psig for the Colts ball. Both are what Anderson measured pregame without tampering having to be invoked.

He has all the formulas and charts and results you could need.

The NFL Thinks You’re Stupid – Matt Chatham attacks the independent claim of the Wells Investigation.

This isn’t an investigation team searching for truth.  These are trial lawyers hired to build a case just like they did against the players in the concussion case.  In my view, not being forthright about exactly who the parties involved are to the fans and other players that will read both this statement and the Wells document itself is shameful – especially for a former player like Troy Vincent.  This is the kind of shame a lifetime doesn’t wash off.

10 REASONS WHY AN APPEAL OVERTURNS TOM BRADY’S SUSPENSION – A look by Daniel J Flynn at the fatal flaws of the Wells Reports, which are sure to be exposed in a hearing with a truly independent judge.

After further review, a theory on how #DeflateGate initially unfolded – Mike Florio, of all people(!) with a surprisingly reasonable explanation of how things went down.

Published by Bruce Allen

Automattician.

98 thoughts on “The Very Best Of The DeflateGate-Debunking Links”

    2. So many “PATRIOTS CHEATERZ!!” replies to that tweet. It’s like recess time at kindergarten.

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    1. Not the NFL Twitter Profile picture. It was posted on the NFL Instagram account.

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  3. But but but Tomase says any rebuttals to the Wells report aren’t sustained by facts!

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    1. Tomase surely must know that the Defense doesn’t NEED to present ‘facts.’ It’s their job to produce suitable holes in the prosecutions’ case, and no more.

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    3. Again…Who is this Tomase guy? There used to be a herald reporter named John Tomase who used to cover the Patriots. However, he was banished to his field of dreams after he made up his own scandal about the Patriots, prior to a previous SB. As such his name and likeness have been banished as nothing he says or does is ever considered anything other than fiction. So is there another guy named Tomase saying anything about the Patriots, if so that is a bigger coincidence than giving yourself the nickname Deflator when dieting. If you are referring to the original John Tomasse who somehow has talked WEEI into continuing his employment (pissing off a good number of regulars on this board) then please do not ever link or talk about anything that a&&hat says ever again.

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  4. If even HALF of that official “rebuttal” document is true, Goodell is GONE. He has to be. What a total hit job….even based on HALF of the Pats’ lawyer’s claims in that document. Wow. Goodell is such an incompetent fool.

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  7. Using an oft-used political term, these are ‘reparations’ now being levied at the Patriots.

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  9. Felger and Mazz have been absolutely insufferable during the Wells Report fallout. The arguments and “outrage” are so contrived. Plus, the conversation never goes anywhere — it takes beating a dead horse to a new level.
    Afternoons at ‘EEI has been much more well-rounded and thought provoking during this ordeal. Although, Jerry Thornton has almost been as insufferable on the opposite end of the spectrum from F&M.

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    2. Did you hear Kirk Minihane’s classic rant about Felger & Mazz this morning. Some of the funniest mocking of the ‘sisters’ I’ve ever heard complete with squeaky voice.
      They posted the mild rant on their website. The laugh out laugh hilarious rant came in the last half hour of the show.
      Destroyed them both.
      D & C’s producer also said Jim Murray is in trouble on that show, they’re quite unhappy with Murray’s performance.

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    3. After the first day when the report first came out (where I
      thought they weren’t that bad) they have really gone over the deep end. It highlights the worst about the show. Non-stop bashing of the team, ownership
      and coach. Rather than offer some perspective, and say have one person on the Patriots side to balance Felger’s non-stop trolling of the team, you have Mazz in total YARM mode agreeing with everything Felger says. Felger also continues his beloved habit of proclaiming the entire media sans their show as homers that are in the tank for the team. Felger proclaiming that the team and coach need to get punished for this despite the report saying they didn’t have anything to do with it (alas, the team did get punished). Mazz angry over Belichick not getting in trouble over this and just salivating at it happening so he and his media cronies can demand for Belichick’s firing.

      As for Felger’s argument about how the punishment is based on their lack of cooperation, let’s not kid ourselves. That the punishment would be lighter if they simply admitted to it? Hah. The Patriots behaved with Spygate. They admitted to it. They gave up the tapes. They apologized in front of the owners about it. This got them an extremely over the top punishment that, along with Goodell’s destroying of the tapes and Tomase’s fake report is why the “cheaters” thing has lingered for years when at the end of the day all Spygate was was them taping from the wrong location. There is no bigger guarantee that if the Patriots did what Felger is asking for, he would immediately move the goalposts and bash them to death for being admitted cheaters.

      Just in: Mazz bashes John Farrell on the baseball reporters for saying Wade Miley did outstanding (which he did) in giving up 0 runs over 6 and 2/3 innings. Exactly what the Sox pitching staff needs and he bashes them over it. “Everything SUCKS Mike!”

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  10. Days like this are when you can separate out the idiots. Beetle, Zolak and Hardy have utterly soiled themselves today on 98.5. Clearly not able to read through a report, acting like they had, jumping to conclusions without even having read the thing they’re criticizing. Spent 2 hours on the term “The Deflator” and that was it. Pathetic, but at least a nice companion piece to the “they should just take their medicine” show coming up from 2-6

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  11. What I don’t understand, if this is not a Sting, why didn’t the League impose a 25K NFL rules violation for using under inflated balls, from the get go, instead of hiring a connected political hack lawyer to do their bidding? WTF?

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  12. This rebuttal is the equivalent of Kraft (as Les Grossman) screaming at Goodell (as the “Flaming Dragon” guy) on the phone and threatening to “rain down an ungodly effing firestorm on your head; I’m talking scorched earth M-F’er!!”……those draft picks are coming back and Brady is playing all 16 games (barring injury). To save face, Goodell can issue the rulebook-mandated $25K fine for whatever procedural deficiencies may have taken place that night, but that’s it. If I were Kraft, I’d fight that, too, but as a fan, I’d take that result over any of the current alternatives.

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  13. To me there are only 3 questions I want answered:

    – Who leaked the original report of all the balls being 2PSI under to the press?

    – Why were the Colts not punished/investigated for playing with under inflated footballs as 3 of the 4 colts balls measured were below 12.5 PSI?

    – Why does Walt Anderson have a job today?

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    1. 4–Why were the Colts not punished for testing the intercepted football on the sidelines with a gauge before the end of the first half, in clear violation of the sacred rule the Patriots so gratuitously abused? (rolls eyes)

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    2. Big picture, LTD. I’ll be Donald Sutherland in “JFK” if you’ll be Costner for a bit….

      All of that would be nice to know… but the real question — and the one you should be most interested in — is this: why is the NFL bending over backwards to issue such a transparent hatchet job on one of its own franchises? Who is really behind this, and why?

      Imagine if this had happened in the NBA. David Stern would have, as soon as that Mortensen story had been put out, issued a statement saying “the balls were investigated by NBA officials, and while pressure changes were noted, no conclusive evidence was shown of any outside intervention. No further action will be taken on this matter, and member clubs are reminded that the league takes the integrity of the basketball very seriously.” Then he’d get the equivalents of Irsay and Kraft together and say “Gents, if I ever hear about doctored balls…. OR if I see any more leaks like this coming out…. I’ll make sure that for the rest of the season your opponents could open fire on your players with an AK-47 and not get called for a foul, while your guys will get T’d up and ejected for looking at the ref funny. Capice?” Things would end right then and there. THAT’S how you run a league.

      Goodell’s too much of a boob to drive all this himself. Someone’s behind it, and the main thing I’d like to know is who.

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      1. Dave you are very right your question is the big picture. Please do not take offense at what I am about to say. I am convinced that Goodell’s problems of leadership stem from his training as a lawyer (parse language, meetings to find consensus, look for all contingencies all at the expense of decisive decision making consequences be damned.

        As for who is behind this…clearly there is a clique of employees in the NFL office who hate that Bill Belichick will not genuflect and kiss their rings. Over time this has simmered, boiled and now with a seemingly innocuous incident exploded into an uncontrollable avalanche. I don’t think another team wanted this. The owners all realize that this could happen to them in wrong situation. The home office however, has no real financial exposure if the reputation of one team is sullied. They know the dollars will flow to a different one and they will still get their cut.

        To me I am dumb founded at seemingly smart people (Mike Francessa, Mike Felger,) who buy into this idea that the Patriots were running the equivalent of a criminal enterprise to remove less than 1 psi of air pressure from game day footballs. Further these people are indignant to the point of irresponsibility. I am a rules are the rules person. I believe that everyone who used PED’s should be banned from whatever sport, activity or neighborhood bar that they were associated with. Pete Rose should never ever see the inside of the HOF even with a ticket. Ditto Shoeless Joe. But for the life of me, I cannot understand what these people think Brady did that it warrants a death penalty. The lack of perspective is utterly amazing to me.

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        2. As the doctor noted — the idea that Goodell is an attorney is mythological. Probably his own doing.

          I agree with you on the scary amount of commentators who seem to have abandoned rationality in this. When you realize that by the terms of its own investigation the league didn’t even demonstrate that it’s more likely than not that the balls were deflated AT ALL, let alone intentionally….. The braying jackasses who are 95% of the sports/media/general population have won, I guess. I give up.

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      2. You’re right. This really is the crux of it.

        Had the NFL treated this like an equipment violation (albeit still not proven) and not a triple-murder, they could have just done a quick look into it. Fine them $25k/ball, saying they couldn’t find any real malfeasance but suspect something was done incorrectly, and tell them that if they have a ball under 12.5 again they’re getting the full weight of an investigation.

        There would have been some buzz for a couple of days… and then we would all just have spend the rest of our lives listening to fans around country try to recall some ‘ball inflation thing’ from 2014/15.

        Instead… this.

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    3. Regarding the first question, Mortensen should definitely reveal that information if he has nothing to hide, right?

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  14. Stop the presses! YARM has called the Patriots’ response “embarrassing.” Of course it is YARM. They should just lie back and think of “The Shield” as Goodell and media morons like you trample all over their accomplishments and reputation — again — based on absolutely, positively no concrete evidence whatsoever; because giving in to mob mentality is always the way to go, right? No, YARM, it is YOU who are an embarrassment. Eff you and your puppet master; seriously, eff you both.

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  15. Irony of ironies: The Patriots putting up a website with a detailed rebuttal to a report that questions the factual support for Goodell imposing punishment on them…… itself provides clear factual support for Goodell imposing punishment on them. (If the Patriots’ website doesn’t call the integrity of the NFL into question, I don’t know what does — and that’s clearly grounds for punitive action.)

    If Goodell does, in fact, penalize the Pats for this, we’ll know that there’s an outright civil war breaking out within the NFL, and lawsuits will soon follow I’m sure.

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  16. I love that it took some guy 7 minutes after the release of the report to register the domain “doritodink.com”. (Yeah, I wish it was me!)

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  17. Chris Simms was on Zo and Beatle and it was laugh out loud funny. To call him a f***** clown would be an insult to clowns everywhere. Good LORD…

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    2. He also thinks his brother isn’t getting a fair shot in the NFL because of his family name.

      A good friend of mine played hs football vs Chris Simms in New Jersey and had some really damning stories about that primadonna.

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  18. So let me get this straight….Roger Goodell is hearing the Brady appeal because well…he can… the only thing possibly worse is Harry Shearer leaving the Simpsons after 26 years…wait that happened also…this day sucks!

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    2. It’s like North Korea holding “free elections” and finding out the only name on the ballot is Kim Jong Un.

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  20. So, everyone is making a big deal about this:

    Patriots didn’t do themselves a favor, there, but science, thankfully, backs them up.

    However, everyone ignores the ties between Wells and the NFL? And his ties to Woody Johnson?

    Got it.

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    1. I think the ties thing is much ado about nothing. These guys all have large and expansive business networks. It would make sense that they are using their experts in quasi independent roles. It is who they use. I do not question Wells connections to the NFL. I question his competence. I do not question the science expert the Pats trotted out to make a mockery of the Wells report. I question his competence. So when the science he used is backed up by others…then his competence is accepted. When Wells science and theories are debunked…then his competence is questioned. Its not that complicated.

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      1. It’s just the ties look bad, for the team/Krafts. They should have known this. Bad on their part but if ever tested in a legal court, it’d at least stand-up.

        I question him because he’s like what Exponent is to their clients, and it’s not just from this report. I think he “found” what the NFL wanted to hear with the Saints and Dolphins, as well. He’s becoming the rubber stamp for what they’re trying to prove, instead of what happened.

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      2. For what it’s worth, the Patriots released an amended version of the rebuttal disclosing that the Kraft Group made a “passive” investment in the guy’s business venture, or whatever it is. Sounds like there’s not much to it, but hey, the story was “broken” by ESPN, and we all know what their agenda is, don’t we? As others have mentioned, the science backs up the Pats on this, so in the end, any relationship they may nor may not have with this guy doesn’t matter. Perhaps a better story for ESPN to break, or to follow, would be why did the NFL lie to the Patriots, on more than one occasion, between January and the release of this report? I guess that angle is not worth pursuing when you’ve already made up your mind, right?

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        1. It’s the financial relationship with the NFL. ESPN does not want spoiled. it’s why they are antiPatriots.

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          1. Correct; and, even though I’m not the biggest Bill Simmons fan, it’s always why they railroaded him with that unfair suspension about a year ago after he called Goodell a liar over the Ray Rice fiasco. Mark Brunnel and other talking heads on the network, however, can call Tom Brady a liar over and over, and they’re basically lauded for it.

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        2. In addition to the financial relationship that latetodinner mentioned, I don’t think ESPN wants to explore that angle of the story because they were the ones who ran with what turned out to be false information.

          Even if they explain it that Mortensen had a good, reliable source that had never steered him wrong, the story was still wrong. The next time Mortensen has some breaking news, there’s going to be a question: “Is this accurate? Or has he been misled by another source?”

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  21. From Finn’s media column today:

    The story features an absolutely perfect amalgam of angles and details to fit ESPN’s “embrace debate” culture, particularly on contrived opinion-centric programs such as “First Take,” which features well-compensated serial caterwaulers Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith and is unwatchable without the assistance of the mute button on its best days.

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  22. Patriots vs NFL is the new Raiders vs NFL. Embrace the hate, people. They can’t take away the trophies. I’ve never looked forward to an NFL season more in my life than the 2015 season.

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    1. Heard a caller on Sirius NFL Radio the other day start with, “Let me just say, I’m a Raiders fan so I KNOW what it’s like to be hated by everyone…” Got a good laugh out of that one.

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  24. I used to think that Lester Munson was a relatively balanced legal analyst, but now that there’s this….

    http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/12888612/tom-brady-nflpa-cannot-win-appeal-filed-deflategate

    There’s simply no way a trained attorney can say this:

    “The evidence gathered by attorney Ted Wells for the NFL’s investigation is clear and convincing.”

    It’s not. It’s not even remotely close to clear and convincing, which is an actual legal standard. The LEAGUE ITSELF did not find its own evidence clear and convincing; they explicitly found it “more probable than not” that the evidence presented supported a given claim, which is a significantly lower standard than clear & convincing.

    A first year law student can see that Brady has a significant chance of winning an appeal with a neutral arbiter of fact based on the evidence presented. Lester Munson, who is a licensed attorney paid by ESPN to give legal analysis, says Brady “cannot” — as in it is factually impossible — win an appeal.

    As the kids would say, SMH. I guess we know where ESPN stands on this.

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    1. I could be wrong, but I believe in that article Munson also refers to “text messages between Brady and the two employees.” The report shows no such text messages between Brady and both guys, just TB and the equipment guy (not McNally). Eh, Munson is ESPN’s legal go-to guy, so that’s pretty much all you need to know. ESPN isn’t going to provide any analysis that’s favorable to the Pats. They just aren’t.

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    3. So I read Munson’s article this morning and I thought I was missing something because I thought he was just stupid. Thank you for confirming.

      This goes back to the conversation we started yesterday. Seemingly smart people are acting either stupidly, moronically or intentionally obtuse when discussing this incident and I do not understand why? If hating a football team’s success makes you act this irrationally then I am not sure there is any hope for you.

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    1. Ben is now busy finding law suites brought about by Brady’s lawyers that they eventually lost…Joe Sullivan sure is keeping the young man busy.

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  26. So I think there is one conspiracy theory about deflategate that has not been formally vetted:

    John Farrell has been behind keeping deflategate in the news to take any and all attention away from the absolutely piss poor job of managing and developing talent he has done this year. There is also evidence that Claude Julien is helping Farrell as no one is talking about the fact that the new Bruins GM’s first decision should be to fire him. These guys are skating while the world worries about less than 1 PSI.

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    1. My “theory” was that it’s Jimmy G behind it all. The entire deflategate stuff is his version of “Mo Lewis”.

      I lose 2psi via my DevilBiss .01 micron filter off my shop air. Lets talk about it!!!

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  27. So I was listening to Adam Jones tonight (as I was sent to Stop and Shop for more frosting at 10:30 by my panicked wife as she was making my daughter’s birthday cake) and I was struck not by the negativeness (that I expect) but by his outright dismissal of the Pats of Context rebuttal. He is employed by the flagship station of the Patriots and yet every sentence he utters is that he does not believe them at all. Not at all. Nothing they say is believable to him. It is unfathomable to him that something did not happen in that 100 second bathroom break. He fully believes a 275 lb man went into the bathroom, locked the door, lined up 12 footballs, deflated them to 1/2 a PSI below the approved level after the refs checked the pressure, put the balls back in the bag and then walked calmly out of the bathroom as if nothing happened. All in 100 seconds. Jones, who works for the Patriots flagship station, finds this explanation preposterous. Clearly, in his mind, something had to happen.

    SO my question is how long do the Patriots accept the smearing of their good name before they start to flex their muscles and ask/make Jones change his tune?

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      1. Funny you should say that. I have heard others say that and I sort of bought into it for a while. But the more I listen (because I totally hate Mike Adams and John Bachelor’s show does not start until 9:00 pm) the more I don’t think that is true. Where I think F&M are poo stirrers I think Jones and Keith are lazy. Further in Jones specifically I think he is not that bright. He is more Tanguay lite to me…great voice no substance.

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  28. I didn’t realize that Felger and Mazz were a couple of boy scouts. They want Brady and BB to come out and just tell the truth according to them. They’re all about being honest and truthful. That’s nice. Maybe they should get the ball rolling by finally doing that on their show instead of debating strawmen.

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    2. I posted on Twitter the other day that F&M have no problem getting on the Pats for not coming clean about “something.” Yet, when someone calls out Felgie on something he said and is on record somewhere, he deflects and moves the goalposts better than anyone.

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  29. What I’m going to find hilarious is what happens AFTER Brady is exonerated. He absolutely can show damage to his reputation and future endorsement earnings. His brand is damaged, and the actions of the NFL is clearly the cause

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  30. A couple of Deflategate thoughts I have not seen discussed anywhere.

    – Why do they need Tom Brady’s phone. If they have McNally’s and Jastremski’s phone any text or email sent from Brady to them should be there. SO unless someone thinks there is a 4th person involved or that Brady was bragging about being the Kingpin of a racket that was charged with illegally deflating balls less than 1PSI I fail to see why Brady’s phone and computer needed to be searched.

    – So far there is no evidence anywhere that Brady orchestrated, demanded or said to anyone that footballs should be deflated less than 12.5 PSI. If that is the case and he is being harassed by his employer or the organization that oversees his direct employer, shouldn’t the Mass AG start looking into unfair labor practices against the NFL? I know that if I false accuse an employee of something and then punish them (dock them money or worse) and it is shown I was incorrect I am open to criminal charges from the state for unfair treatment of an employee. The Attorney General should step up and announce an investigation into the way the NFL has handled this case and look at whether any laws (real ones not NFL by-laws and regulations) were broken. That should scare the living poop out of the home office in NY.

    – Sal Palantonio on this mornings Murray and Gasper show reduced Deflategate to one simple observation. For the NFL to win they need to show a piece of evidence where Tom Brady directed someone or anyone to deflate a football to less than 12.5 PSI. Palantonio claims he has not seen that evidence anywhere. So in his mind this is just a circus. I think the most important part of Palantonio’s observation is that he stated the NFL does not have and as far as he knows has not alleged that said evidence exists. So like the rest of us he wonders why this farce continues.

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    1. Wondered some versions of what you said and I’m sure one of the reasonable shows has discussed those.

      Here’s what I’m wondering. Despite the arrogance, there have to be intelligent, reasonable people on Park Avenue who are telling someone, somebody these points. They have to think that despite the perceived arrogance from Brady, BB and Kraft, that they’re seriously not dumb and have also retained a “dream team” for lawyers. Do they want this thing dragged out in court? They want discovery? We’re still at the “Chicken” phase? Maybe Goodell will use this as his way to swoop in just to show the world that the entire Wells Report and how things were handled were bogus? (Reduce the susp to 1 game, only lose a 4th round pick all on a basis of the 5th interview fact.)

      But, then I wonder how he could. If he did this, he pisses the folks there pissed at the team. Goodell looks like he’s back in Kraft’s pocket, etc. Does the NFL really want discovery? With everything that has gone on, you have to imagine that there are some juicy things on the internal NFL.com email system about this (unless they’re going the “deleted emails” route that works for politicans)

      Anything that either removes or mitigates what’s been handed down also makes other owners, who do hate the team, pissed at Goodell for wasting 5M on a useless report. Public also goes nuts. The polls out there are shocking, but also not surprising.

      Or, maybe they do have something up their sleeve that is a smoking gun, and just withheld it from the report?

      I was trying to figure the endgame out here and it’s just not coming clear.

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      1. You make good points, busman, but I really do not think there is a smoking gun out there where Brady, to quote Sal Palantonio, ordered the “code red”. Without that the NFL has no case if Brady gets to a Federal Court. The NFL either knows and understands this or Ted Wells has them snowed. Personally I think Ted Wells has them snowed to the tune of $5 mill. As such the NFL is not going to back down until a Federal judge pitch slaps them (I saw Pitch Perfect 2 last night with my daughters…don’t ask it was exactly as advertised) back into the world of common sense.

        Once that happens I really don’t see how the loss of the two draft picks stands regardless of what the 31 other owners want. Just because some people in the league whisper that “things always happen in NE” and that “NE goes right up that line” does not mean that the Maras, Rooneys and Jones will continue to support Goodell if it appears that he or worse the employees on Madison Ave actually had it out for the Pats. The question they will start asking is could my billion dollar asset be targeted next. None of them want that.

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        1. The NFL either knows and understands this or Ted Wells has them snowed.

          Do they? Most of the time you have one of these people, who basically does sham work for a living, but has the “cred” via degrees and “work done”, skate. Problem is that the NFL doesn’t do well in court, but it seems like they just don’t get this–kinda par for the way they’re run now.

          The question they will start asking is could my billion dollar asset be targeted next.

          I wondered about this, as well. If some team gets “too big” or “dynasty”, even though water rises all boats in their pool, are they really that pissed at the success? I think this dynamic will become clearer if it does go to court.

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  31. Fatty rejoins the Forehead tomorrow at 6 am.

    Was it the alcohol talking when Dino said that the “gloves are coming off” (and then nothing changed about the show, neither more nor less “edgy”) after their previous boss was fired?

    Too soon?

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  33. I hear many people calling in saying they think Brady is guilty because he’s not cooperating, along the theme of “if you haven’t done anything wrong…”.
    There’s a very reasonable explanation for all of this. It’s not whether or not you’ve done something wrong, but whether or not you can be *perceived* as having done something wrong. If you’re a policeman looking into a crime, evidence will often be interpreted as criminal even if there is another explanation. It’s human nature. For Brady do provide his phone, he would have to trust the Wells was extremely trustworthy and unbiased. I think we can all agree that’s a stretch. There’s a reason we have search and seizure laws and innocent people get lawyers.

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    1. There’s a “whisper” out there that Brady would have handed the phone over to Goodell if he had asked, but that he didn’t trust Wells based on how he handled the Incognito/Miami investigation. Not sure what to make of that, but given that Wells published text messages from one of the low-level employees to his MOTHER, which had nothing to do with the investigation, I’d say Brady’s concerns were valid. Of course, I wouldn’t trust Goodell either if I were Brady: the NFL offices leaked like a sieve during this whole affair, and 95% of the leaks were designed to make the Patriots look bad. I can just imagine what may have been leaked out if Brady had handed over his personal phone — it’s his personal phone, by the way, not a team-issued one. No warrant, no phone, would be my reply.

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      1. Go a step further. A private company cannot compel an employee to turn over their private phone (not paid for by the company) to be searched for evidence of alleged wrongdoing. Not in Mass at least. Forget whether the NFL front office was leaking like a sieve. The NFL had McNally and Jastremski’s phones. If Brady had sent them an email or a text it would have been then there. The only reason to look at Brady’s phone is that you either assume a 4th person was involved (zero evidence of that) or you suspect Brady was part of a racket (zero evidence). So Brady’s lawyers advised him not to turn over the phone to the Kangaroo court. In hind sight it was the right decision. At the time it was the right decision and in the future it will still be the right decision.

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  34. Here is the one theory that seems to be absent from the local and national discussions of deflategate. Perhaps the Pats are telling the truth. There was no organized “racket” to deflate the balls. The Pats hand them to the ref at 12.5 on their gauge. Maybe the ref’s gauges are calibrated slightly differently so sometimes they read 12.1-12.4 and a ref add a little air (what happened in the Jets game), most of the time the refs just squeeze the ball and pronounce them adequate and move on to the game.

    By this theory McNally locked himself in the bathroom for 100 seconds to actually…go to the bathroom. Nothing nefarious happened.

    When the Colts measured the ball after it was intercepted their gauge was not calibrated like the Pats. It read a low reading maybe even the reported 10.1PSI. It was so out of whack that the Wells report did not include it in its findings because once the Colts had it and stuck a needle in it even Wells knew the ball was compromised.

    The Pats beat Indy by 38 points. The NFL front office especially Mike Kensil reacted in a way that makes Roger Goodell look like a fool.

    The collective minds of untold “professionals” have been lost because as Felger says “this feels funny”…or “I know they did something”. “They are always pushing right up to that line”. This all happens because some college educated people do not understand basic chemistry (that is where the Ideal Gas Law is taught or at least it was to both of my daughters over the last 2 years) and because the NFL has never taken this issue seriously enough to have legitimate checks and balances in place.

    What the NFL really needs to spend $5 mill on is an investigation of the NFL’s front office, Walt Anderson and his crew, the Colts equipment people and how the Mortensen Report got made and where the leak that caused so much damage tot he Pats reputation came from.

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    1. THAT MIND CONTROL RAY INSIDE THE BEACON AT GILLETTE STADIUM MUST BE WORKING. YOUR POST IS PROOF! — random Internet commenter

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    1. Gotta love Reiss. I never thought Hightower was a bust. The guy was brought in to play a certain role and then in both his second and third years he had to step into Mayo’s role early in the season because Mayo landed on I.R. In 2013 he struggled a bit because of his inexperience wearing the green sticker’d helmet, but last year he did a terrific job….while playing most of the final quarter of the season, plus the playoffs, basically with one arm.

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  36. Ah, Bert Breer.
    May 18, 2015

    Lemme rephrase that for you, Bert. I’m a tax attorney. You hire me to do your tax return for 2014. I’m a dick, so I put five extra zeroes on all your income, file the return behind your back, and then let the IRS come after you for your multi-hundred-thousand-dollar tax underpayment.

    I bet you’ll object to that, Bert. Probably try and get it fixed.

    The problem is, you signed off on me back in March. It’s not like I was an unknown.

    /smh

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    1. I don’t think they had a choice, because it was a league matter, no?

      Also, if they put up a fight on this, with what was going on in the media, it would have been a huge PR hit.

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      1. Nope. They did, at the time, release a statement with the usual pleasantries re: his appointment, of course.

        I’m noting the vaguely spectacular idiocy of Breer basically arguing that ‘signing off’ on someone gives that person free rein to do anything they want. The Pats are arguing, more or less, that Wells reached a partisan, slanted result in his “independent’ investigation. Is Breer saying that the Pats knew he was partisan and slanted, and agreed to him anyhow?

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        1. Seriously. Every time I think Breer cannot possibly get any dumber, or cannot possibly be more of a DB (that does not stand for defensive back)….he proves me wrong, time and again. Obviously, he’ll be butthurt forever at the “mean” treatment he received from BB (like everyone else in the media) during his time as a local beat writer, so he’ll be trying to make the Patriots pay for that, ad infinitum, for as long as he has that national forum of his.

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        2. Schefter said this morning on D&C that Wells’ firm made 5m on this and 40m on the concussion lawsuit. He’s there to rubberstamp what the NFL wants. I think it’s time to stop calling him independent.

          Appoint someone neutral? The NFLPA needs to finally get their act together here..

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    2. Dave…put down the twitter, slowly walk away, close your eyes, breathe, breathe again, ohmmmmmmm, ohmmmmmm,

      “I’d like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony….I’d like to buy the world a Coke…” fade to the credits.

      There now that Mad Men has ended, you have given up twitter and Bert Breer is still a moron don’t you feel better.

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  37. News reports over night (I am not going to link to them they are everywhere) is that the Pats and NFL are quietly in talks to find a compromise end to this mess. I am trying to figure out what the Pats are willing to offer to allow the NFL to save face. Money is easy, firing McNally and Jastremski okay. An admission they did something…I don’t see it happening.

    I could see the NFL saying we will remove Brady’s suspension and give you back the 1st rounder. The statement would say it is clear that the Wells report did not answer any questions and raised more about how the NFL handles their business than it does prove the Patriots did anything nefarious. They would further say the punishment of the fine and the 4th rounder are because it was felt that the Pats did not fully cooperate.

    I just don’t see why Kraft would agree to anything other than a full exoneration. Further, I don’t see what leg the NFL has to stand on with any of the punishment. I understand why Kraft is incensed. I also see why the NFL would make an offer to negotiate. They are about to be humiliated and want to avoid that at all costs.

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    1. The problem is that if they negotiate a “lesser penalty”, they’re still admitting guilt……and the media and enemy fan bases will be able to point to that forever as another “cheating scandal” and another “tainted Super Bowl.” They have to go for full exoneration EXCEPT for a $25K fine for McNally not taking the footballs directly to the field prior to kickoff on Jan., 18. That can be parsed as a violation of the procedures spelled out in the current rule….of course, if the Pats are fined $25K for violating the rule, then the Colts must be as well, since they stuck a freakin’ needle in the intercepted ball during the 2nd quarter, which is another clear violation of the same rule. The Pats should insist on that. And I assume any negotiations between the team and the league do not involve the Brady situation…that’s between the NFLPA, Brady and the NFL. I hope Tom still goes nuclear on them, even if Kraft and the league reach a settlement.

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      1. A quick note on the Colts, it’s not a violation, as once the ball was intercepted, it does not go back into the game.

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        1. That is a misnomer being put out there by those who want to defend what the Colts did. Neither side is supposed to do anything to a football until the game is over regardless of whether the ball will go back in. The NFL might want to check that ball or they might need to put it back in because all of the other balls are defective. Because it was the AFC championship game the Colts took the ball to give to the player who intercepted it. They cannot put a needle in it during the game regardless.

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        2. The Pats’ lawyer, in the rebuttal they published last week, claims it was a violation for the Colts to stick a needle in the ball, regardless of when. Now, he may be going by the strict letter of the rule and not the reality, which is that the ball wouldn’t be put back into play after being intercepted. Either way, I think that angle, like every other angle that makes the Patriots look better in the court of public opinion, is getting way underplayed.

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    2. They (the NFL) are probably seeing if Wells will fall on his sword for Goodell. That’s the only face-saving option for the NFL. “I’ve reviewed the report, and the information given by the Patriots is very persuasive, etc., yadda, bottom line is I believe that there are sufficient doubts to reduce the penalties, yadda.” i.e. “I blame Ted.”

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      1. After Wells’ “don’t look at me I am pure as the driven snow” presser I doubt his ego could handle being made to take the fall. This all falls on either Goodell or a district court. I am hoping Goodell wakes up and realizes the pile of pooh he has fallen into. I doubt hope will = happen. But I am a dreamer so who knows.

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  39. Posted 6 hours ago:

    http://espn.go.com/boston/nfl/story/_/id/12910531/new-england-patriots-nfl-working-resolution-issues-deflategate-penalties

    The NFL and the New England Patriots are engaged in “back-channel conversations” to see if the two sides can resolve their differences without an appeal or possible litigation following the league’s Deflategate punishment, sources told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.

    The Patriots are weighing their next move in terms of reacting to the discipline meted out by the NFL and have until before Friday to file an appeal of their penalties, which consist of the loss of two draft picks — including a first-rounder — and a $1 million fine.

    and this:

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  40. Hilarious. Mad Dog Russo on with D&C Kirk asks about everything and if he read the Wells Report, since Russo has been trashing the team on his show.

    MD: “I read what I had to read.”

    KM: “So you didn’t read it.”

    MD: “It’s not my job.”

    Kinda sums up the nation, right?

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